Early history of Singapore

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History of Singapore
Early history (pre-1819) Srivijaya 650–1377 Temasek, Long Ya Men, Ban Zu c.14th century Kingdom of Singapura 1299–1398 Malacca Sultanate 1400–1511 Johor Sultanate 1528–1819
British colonial era (1819–1942) Founding 1819–1826 Straits Settlements 1826–1867 Crown colony 1867–1942
Japanese Occupation (1942–1945) Fall of Singapore 1942 Sook Ching 1942 Double Tenth incident 1943
Post-war period (1945–1962) First Legislative Council 1948–1951 Maria Hertogh riots 1950 Second Legislative Council 1951–1955 Anti-National Service Riots 1954
Internal self-government (1955–1963) Hock Lee bus riots 1955 Singapore Glass Factory strikes 1960 Pulau Senang prison riots 1963
Merger with Malaysia (1963–1965) Singaporean referendum 1962 Operation Coldstore 1963 Race riots in Singapore 1964 MacDonald House bombing 1965
Republic of Singapore (1965–present) ASEAN Declaration (ASEAN) 1967 1969 race riots of Singapore 1969 Laju incident 1974 Operation Spectrum 1987 Asian financial crisis 1997 Embassies attack plot 2001 H1N1 pandemic 2009–2010 Bus drivers' strike 2012 Little India riot 2013 2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit 2018 COVID-19 pandemic 2020–2022
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The early history of Singapore refers to its pre-colonial era before 1819, when the British East India Company led by Stamford Raffles established a trading settlement on the island and set in motion the history of modern Singapore.

Prior to 1819, the island was known by several names. An early reference may be in the 2nd century work by Ptolemy which identified a coastal port at the southernmost tip of the Malay Peninsula, called Sabana. However, historians generally attribute a 3rd-century Chinese traveller's record describing an island at the same location called Pu Luo Chung, a transcription of Singapura's early Malay name Pulau Ujong, as the first recording of its existence.

Singapore was known in the 13th to 14th century as Temasek, with its name being changed to Singapura perhaps towards the end of 14th century by Sang Nila Utama, the founder of Kingdom of Singapura. The island was alternately claimed during this period by the Siamese and the Javanese. The last ruler of Singapura, Parameswara fled to Malacca after an attack by either the Javanese or Siamese, and established the state of Malacca. It was controlled by the Malacca Sultanate in the 15th century and the Johor Sultanate from the 16th century, up till its founding as a British colony in the 19th century.